Air Force One (1997)

Director:

Wolfgang Petersen

Writer (WGA):

Andrew W. Marlowe (written by)

Release Date:

25 July 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

Harrison Ford is the President of the United States.

Plot:

Hijackers seize the plane carrying the President of the United States and his family, but he (an ex-soldier) works from hiding to defeat them.

Plot Keywords:

Terrorist | Hostage | General | Terrorism | U.S. President

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 7 wins & 9 nominations

Cast

Harrison Ford	...	President James Marshall
Gary Oldman	...	Ivan Korshunov
Glenn Close	...	Vice President Kathryn Bennett
Wendy Crewson	...	Grace Marshall
Liesel Matthews	...	Alice Marshall
Paul Guilfoyle	...	Chief of Staff Lloyd 'Shep' Shepherd
Xander Berkeley	...	Secret Service Agent Gibbs
William H. Macy	...	Major Caldwell
Dean Stockwell	...	Defense Secretary Walter Dean
Tom Everett	...	National Security Advisor Jack Doherty
Jürgen Prochnow	...	General Ivan Radek
Donna Bullock	...	Deputy Press Secretary Melanie Mitchel
Michael Ray Miller	...	Colonel Axelrod
Carl Weintraub	...	Lt. Colonel Ingraham
Elester Latham	...	AFO Navigator

Also Known As:

AFO
Air Force One (Germany)

MPAA:

Rated R for violence.

Runtime:

124 min

Country:

USA | Germany

Language:

English | Russian

Colour:

Colour (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Netherlands:12 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:14A (British Columbia) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Canada:PG (Alberta) | Philippines:PG-13 | New Zealand:M | Australia:M | Brazil:14 | Finland:K-16 | France:U | Germany:16 (w) | Iceland:14 (original rating) | Iceland:16 (video rating) | Mexico:B | Norway:15 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | South Korea:15 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R (certificate #34790)

Filming Locations:

Beverly Hills, California, USA

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

Although there are two specific 747s used and maintained by the Air Force for the president's use, the "Air Force One" designation is the air traffic control sign of any United States Air Force aircraft carrying the President of the United States (with Army, Navy, Marine, or Coast Guard aircraft being referred to as "Army One", "Navy One", etc., and civilian aircraft being referred to as "Executive One").

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: Lip synching doesn't match when the Air Force "PJ" (pararescue jumper in the back of the C-130) talks into his helmet microphone, saying "Liberty 24 is changing call signs, Liberty 24 is now Air Force One."

Quotes:

[first lines]
Major Perkins: [after landing in Kazakstan] Quick head count! One, two, three, four, five. Move out!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Navy NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service: Yankee White (#1.1)" (2003)

Soundtrack:

L'Internationale

It is what it is......fun

Nonstop action, thrilling suspense, dark humor, and a brilliant concept, this flag waving over the top action adventure was a good two hours in 1997.

The story: Enroute back to the States from Russia, Russian Nationals hijack the President's plane and hold him and his family (as well as most of his staff) hostage aboard Air Force One in order to release a Rouge General captured earlier.

Harrison Ford from his first minute to his last looks comfortable in his Presidential role. That's to say, Ford appears, acts and just plain feels like he should be President. (Come one who saw this movie and wanted him to run). Gary Oldman's performance as the main villain (Ivan) should be up there with the likes of Alan Rickman's Hans from Die Hard and John Malkovich's Leary-Booth-Carney from In the Line of Fire (coincidentally directed by Wolfgang Peterson as well). Glenn Close pulls of the Vice President role with smirks and spunk.

Stars aside I think the supporting cast should get an equal if not harder pat on the back. These guys…and girls…. really made the movie. They're the ones that brought the chuckles and caused gasps. Wendy Crewson (The Good Son) nailed her role with more grace than a first lady has actually shown in the last recallable years. Paul Guilfoyle ("CSI", The Negotiator), was the kind gentle, "best buddy", chief-of-staff, who brought a small smile to your face every time he is on-screen. Xander Berkeley ("24", Terminator 2), plays the chilling secret service agent Gibbs. The lovable William H. Macy plays the good-mannered Air Force Officer who puts himself in harm's way for the President more time than the Secret Service agents do. He just doesn't get enough screen time toward the beginning. And Dean Stockwell will have you cussing under your breath as the power-hungry Secretary of Defense. And it seems that Wolfgang Peterson watched every great Action/Military movie of the past 3 years and hired all those "briefing room generals". For this I applaud him. As for the terrorist, they rival those of Die hard. Cold, stone-faced, funny, smooth, and just plain hateable, they did their job.

The bulk of the movie takes place aboard the Air Force One no kidding eh?). And boy do you believe it. The production designer (Williams Sandell) obviously paid attention to detail, mimicking the real Presidential Aircraft. Small, claustrophobic and believable.

Andrew W. Marlowe's script gets it job done as well. Nothing award winning. It's everything you would expect given the story it has to tell. Couple times it will make you cringe, but again, look what it needs to accomplish.

The late Jerry Goldsmith's score for this movie is a hands down classic. Only having two weeks to score the film after Peterson rejected Randy Newman's work, Goldsmith with the help of Joel Mcneely composed one of the most bombastic, riveting, emotional, suspenseful, and patriotic scores I've heard come out of the film world. It works perfectly with the movie.

A few times your mind is going to be stretch you may have to resort to the "It's just a movie" mindset. Overall its fun. Not a bad way to spend 2 hours. Harrison Ford for President.